Nail Clipping

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CutieOnTwo

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Hello Everyone,

I want to clip Pepper's nails today but I have no clue as to how to doit...Can anyone please advise me on how to and the easiestmethod? PLEASE!!!!

Just to make it known I have Cat nail clippers, will these work?

Thanks in Advance,

Sophia


 

Hi CutieonTwo,

1) Cradle your bun as a baby, wrap in a towel 'burrito' style if youwish more control. I tend to elevate the back feet slightly as I'mholding my rabbit closely and firmly as a baby. Some people also chooseto do it on a table for more support.

2) Exposing one foot at a time, under the light of a flashlight orbright light (get help if you need to in order to have an extra set ofhands) flash the light into the rabbit's nail. You'll be able toidentify the quick (the blood vessel in the nail) as the darker color(shadow) under the nail. You don't want to cut down to the quick, justin front of it.

3) Don't try to cut them too short. Trim a little, let a day go by sothat the quick can fall back a little and then clip a little more.

4) Talking to and petting your rabbit will help keep it calmer as your doing this.

5) If you do cut into the blood vessel, be sure to have on hand somecorn or a styptic powder found in pet supply stores to stop thebleeding.

6) Cat nail clippers work fine on my rabbit. The right clippers dependson the size of the rabbit and the thickness of the nails.

7) Don't forget the 'thumb nail'.

8) As you relax and practice this, your rabbit will too. Take yourtime, and just do a little bit of the nail at a time is what Irecommend the most at first. Even today I still just do a little at atime. Your rabbit will sense your stress/fear and will react. It'simportant to just keep talking to the little one as your doing it.

Good Luck.

-Carolyn
 
I couldnt have said it any better. I just cut mybunnys nails for the first time. Not my first but first with her. itwasnt too bad. She was pretty behaved and when doing the front actullylooked relaxed.

Cristy
 
How ironic that this post was here, since I wasgoing to ask about it-Yesterday, being Sunday I took my girls to thevet for their very first nail clipping...(I know I had far more anxietythan them~have been dreading this for quite some time) I wanted him todo it first so I could "learn"

WELL..his assistant was not in so I had to hold them, hand under withmy palm cradling their bottom and fingers holding the back feettogether and second hand under their "armpits" ;)Since I havecarried them at home this way, BUT ONLY for very short periods of time~I wholeheartedly expected high leg kicks as if they were LasVegas show girls, but they didn't even squirm! I wanted to know WHOSErabbits these were? they are soo good at the vet, and then athome? jeeeez

My concern was that he didn't cut them short enough, they seem to beawfully long still (I looked and the whiteness is still far away fromthe quick) So great post Carolyn about letting it "settle" for a day,and now my question being is..I wanted to pick up some clippers andwhen I looked they only have these odd ones that look like toe-nailclippers but at the end there is a circular hold for the nail to beinserted? Are these the correct kind or shall I start theGREAT TAIWANESE BUNNY CLIPPER HUNT?

Cher
 
I couldn't agree more, HB104! I wasgoing to post about nail clipping this week too as I have someapprehension about it.

I had the vet clip Sherman's nails this Saturday, and I like you waslike, whose bunny is this? He sat therelike a lamb while the assistant held him down and the vet clipped thenails. This was while I was telling the vet that there was noway I could clip them at home because blah ... blah ... blah... (The vet was looking at me like I was stark raving madthat I couldn't clip this "sweet" little bunny's nails :(.)

I still would like to see some type of video or something because Istill don't have quite a clear understanding of what the "quick"is. My focus at the vet was on Sherman's health, so I didn'task enough questions (actually I didn't ask any questions at all) aboutthe nail trimming.

Hey, HB104, I do know enough to know that a lot of people use those"odd looking ones" that you're referring to. Some,I'm told, even use regular people nail clippers.
 

Greetings HB104 and Bunnymommy,

The type of nail clipper you had seen, HB104, sounds like the correctones for me. Mine are cat clippers, some use dog clippers for thebigger rabbits. True, Bunnymommy, some people use nail clippers, I knowone woman who used scissors-which I wouldn't recommend, and I've evenheard of one using nail files to keep them filed down.

Got a kick out of it how Jade & Jez and Sherman all werewell-behaved and calm and cool at the doctor's office. Thanks for thehead's up. It seems you guys have been lying about their devilish waysall along. *giggles* Just as I had suspected. Will take what you sayabout their misbehaving attitudes with a grain of salt. ;)

As to the 'quick', Bunnymommy, if you take Sherman into the sunlight,or have a really good light that you shine under his nail, you'll seethe darker color start just centimeters from the tip of the nail. Beingwhite, it shouldn't be too hard to spot. Darker rabbits are sometimesextremely hard to see. Take another close look at Sherman with theproper lighting and I'm sure you'll identify it right away.

-Carolyn
 
My Baby doesn't seem the type to letme do this. She really doesn't like to be heldlong. Is this typical? She's only a couple ofmonths old at most. Do they ever get better about beingheld?:shock:
 
Hi Babymommy,

It took my rabbit about two and 1/2 years to get comfortable with itand not struggle. All rabbits are different, but if you'restressed and unsure, they're sure to pick up on that and react to it.

The more you do it, the easier it gets. I think the mainthing about nail clipping isto think of yourself as the'Alpha Rabbit'. Be sure and confident of yourself going intoit. This takes time, but it can certainly be achieved intime. Tucker doesn't like being held either.

-Carolyn
 
Megan's nails get clipped like once every 2months...or whenever my friend comes over and feels like doingit...lol. But I find her nails dont really grow. Same with her teeth.She doesn't really have front teeth, I mean they're there, but they'reso small! They're like a CM long....? I dunno, almost at her gums....Idunno why.....
 
CutieOnTwo wrote:
Hello Everyone,

I want to clip Pepper's nails today but I have no clue as to how to doit...Can anyone please advise me on how to and the easiestmethod? PLEASE!!!!

Just to make it known I have Cat nail clippers, will these work?

Thanks in Advance,

Sophia
I have a rabbit name Pepper.My Pepper is a year old and he is anetherland dwaft rabbit. What kind of rabbit is your Pepper. Are younew to this forum,if you are I welcome you to this forum.I have awebsite with Pepper's picture on it.It ishttp://webpages.charter.net/jbh1997/PepperApril2004

http://webpages.charter.net/jbh1997/pepperlazyonbed


 
Regarding nail clipping. Cher, there isno "right" type of clippers. Whatever works best foryou. I've tried them all and prefer the guillotine type thatyou describe because it is easy to slide the nail through, has a bottomblade to judge my cut, and cutting is a single action process due tothe spring in the clipper.

I generally do it outside at a picnic table, so I can utilize sunlightto better see the quick. The quick, in a white nail, appearslike a tiny pink worm encased in translucent "ice." Cut aboveit.

In darker nails, in direct sunlight, it often has a slightly morepinkish cast than the "dead" end of the nail. Sometimes, itjust appears more dense. If you can see it in one nail, itmakes it easier to spot in other nails, sometimes. You canalso nip a little bit off at a time. As you approach thequick more closely, bunny will often react with a knee-jerkmotion. Sometimes, you can cut right to the quick, see theend of it, but not cause bleeding. In any case, I always havestyptic powder, a Q-Tip, and water on hand to dampen the cotton on theQ-Tip, to staunch any blood flow that may accidentallyoccur. Flour, talc, corn starch, are viablealternatives. Most buns forgive the indignity in a shortwhile, should you accidentally cut too close to the quick, so while notexactly painless, it is not a major injury. Those of us whocut our buns' nails have all done it at one time or another.

I grasp the bun and turn it upside down on its back, and cradle it inmy right arm. I place its back on a towel cushioned picnictable top, with my arm still cradling it, and grasp its two rear feetin my right hand. With my left hand, I stroke its head andtalk soothingly, in an effort to calm and "hypnotize" it into a relaxedstate.

Having accomplished that, I use the thumb and forefinger of my righthand, which is still grasping the rear feet, to isolate one nail, andplace in in the guillotine blade of the clipper being operated by myleft hand. Sometimes, I use my right thumb as anindex markerto NOT cut below, by placing it on line with thevisible quick. Having completed the rear feet, I switchhands, and arms, and bunny's orientation to work on the front feet in asimilar manner.

Buns will often wiggle and squirm out of my grasp. Some will"startle" out of their entranced state when I snip, or somenoise grabs them. In any case, I simply, and swiftly, replacethem in the position I desire, because I am, as Carolyn mentioned, theAlpha rabbit, the big Boss Rabbit, and the Big Kahuna Rabbit and theymust recognize that fact to finally acquiesce and submit quietly.

Sometimes, buns will whimper and moan and sniffle, but rest assured,you are not killing them. Once the ordeal is over, they aretreated to a long grooming session with brushes and combs, until theybegin to "chatter" with pleasure. Then, I am sure all isforgiven.

Couple of pointers... Front nails, grow much morequickly than rear, because in Nature, they were used more frequentlyand formidably in digging borrows.

Don't forget the little dewclaw in the inside of the leg, an inch or two above the paw.

Yellow, commercially obtained from pet stores, styptic powder, mixedwith bunny blood often stains clothing permanently, so don't wear goodclothing.

Styptic pencils, that men may use shaving, are worthless for this application, in my estimation.

Usually, if you cannot see the quick in direct sunlight orwith a powerful flashlight, you will cause no injury by cutting off the"hooked" portion of a nail.

Cutting nails every two to three months is adequate. I do ourbuns monthly, because I don't want them to lose a nail by hangingup on something, and I weigh, visually and manually inspectthem, and record everything on a permanent, informal monthly recordsheet.

Another holding technique is to wrap the bun up in a towel, burritostyle, extracting each foot as necessary. You may have tore-wrap frequently.

Some people cradle buns on their backs between themanicurist's knees, and grab one leg at a time. Works best ifyour bun will "trance."

Some people enlist the aid of one, or two helpers, but I find that itis unnecessary, as one becomes more familiar and at ease with theprocess.

If Carolyn thinks it may be useful, our buns will need a manicure rightabout the time of the Beach Bunnies Party 2004, and I'd be more thanhappy to put on a demonstration for those who are squeamish aboutit. Bring your own clippers and we can do it along side oneanother, or you can use mine, under close supervision. It isnot rocket science and no one should have to make an unnecessary tripto the vet's office for this. Save those trips, and money,for the big and serious events.

Buck;)

 
I also trance mine them are easy to do no stressand not fight. I do it alone as I feel mine are more comfy with justmom. I still get a little nervous with the black nails and just tipthem but I do my buns once a month and check teeth at thesame time
 
HiyaBuck,

Wow! That was a great and thorough post. Got the"Alpha Rabbit" idea from you way back, I'm sure you'llrecall.

Great idea about doing a demonstration about nail clipping at theparty! Please do! That would be mostwelcome.

Regarding the party: Will soon be asking folks toRSVP because unless I have names of folks planning on attending, theywon't be allowed in the park/lake, as it's private.Think I'll go post that now.

-Carolyn
 
BunnyMommy,

I'm half tempted to fly you here myself!

If I only could. Flights are cheap these days!

Actually, one of our attendants is coming from Macon, GA. Wonderful wonderful gal and her husband.

-Carolyn

 
We could swing the travel arrangements;it's just that neither my husband or I can get free for thatweekend.

* sniff, sniff*



 

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